CVE-2023-6246Public exploit

Local privilege escalation via undersized syslog heap buffer

Published Jan 31, 2024 · Updated Jul 14, 2026

Heap-based buffer overflow in glibc 2.36 through 2.38 allows local users to gain root privileges via a crafted process name. __vsyslog_internal allocates a heap buffer that is too small when a SYSLOG_HEADER containing a program name over 1024 bytes does not update the required size. The path is reached when openlog was not called or received a NULL ident; exploitation can crash the calling application or elevate an unprivileged process to root.

CVSS severity8.4
High
EPSS probability4.79%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Heap-based buffer overflow in glibc 2.36 through 2.38 allows local users to gain root privileges via a crafted process name. __vsyslog_internal allocates a heap buffer that is too small when a SYSLOG_HEADER containing a program name over 1024 bytes does not update the required size. The path is reached when openlog was not called or received a NULL ident; exploitation can crash the calling application or elevate an unprivileged process to root.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-6246
Published
Jan 31, 2024
Updated
Jul 14, 2026
Vendor
Fedora Project
Product
Fedora Linux
Classifications
CWE-122, CWE-787, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 31, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jul 14, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected versions are unavailable in this record. Check the vendor advisory for version and patch details.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Fedora Project · Fedora LinuxAffected versions are unavailable in this record.
Siemens · SIPLUS S7-1500 CPU 1518-4 PN/DP MFPversion=V3.1.5 <*
Siemens · SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU 1518F-4 PN/DP MFPversion=V3.1.5 <*
Siemens · SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU 1518-4 PN/DP MFPversion=V3.1.5 <*

Published CVSS scores

7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
8.4Red Hat, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-122Heap-based Buffer Overflow
CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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